Report

Inside the sausage factory

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs examines the role of evidence in public health policymaking in the United Kingdom.

This new IEA book, by Dr Christopher Snowdon, exposes the illusion of evidence-based policymaking in Britain through four landmark public health interventions: plain tobacco packaging, the Soft Drinks Industry Levy, minimum unit pricing for alcohol, and FOBT stake reductions.

All four were presented as rigorous, evidence-based policies. And yet, in every case, these policies were pushed forward on the back of evidence that was weak, partisan or selectively applied. Government agencies, politicians and the media repeated inaccurate claims and proceeded despite an absence of robust data or comparable case studies.

Rather than being the product of data-driven policy development, these policies were promoted by an architecture that allows small, well-funded interest groups to define the problem, shape the evidence base, lobby ministers and evaluate the outcome. Dr Snowdon exposes how paternalistic interest groups dominated the research agenda and media coverage, while politicians back policies not because the evidence is compelling, but because of the reputational risk of inaction.

This represents a dangerous pattern visible across contemporary policy debates on issues ranging from housing to net zero.